What You Should Know About Removing Negative Articles From the Internet

Learn all you need to know about removing negative information from the internet and restoring your online image today.

Developing a positive online presence is more important than ever, but today, just one piece of bad press can wreak havoc on your reputation.

Your online reputation is a combination of every item that includes your name online. From publicly-signed petitions for the good of society to publicly-available mugshots showing you at your worst, every mention of you or your brand online contributes to how people view you. And you’d be surprised to find out just how many data broker sites and news publications have your personal information stored in their databases.

Here’s what having a poor reputation can do.

Consider this: When a hiring manager wants to select a candidate for the job, they’ll head to Google to find out more about applicants. Or, when a customer is about to spend money buying from your business, they’ll first check online reviews to see what others have to say.

What this means for you — whether you’re concerned with your personal or professional reputation — is that you should ensure that people don’t find negative, harmful information and negative press when they look you or your company up online.

If you haven’t done this lately, Google your name and the names of your businesses, then look through the first two pages of results. Don’t forget to scan the images, too. Do you like what you see? Because that’s what others will see when they turn to Google to research you.

Anyone can head online to write negative or false statements about you. And whether they’re grounded in reality or not, negative results in Google can do a lot of damage to your reputation.

Luckily, it’s possible to remove news articles and harmful content on other websites and replace them with positive information that improves your reputation.

We can help you create a positive online reputation, even if you’re starting from zero or rebounding from reputational damage. Call us at 941-259-4554 for more information.

Can You Really Remove Negative Press From the Internet?

The answer to this question is: Sometimes.

Some negative content is very easy to remove. For example, if the content that’s negatively impacting your reputation was posted by you, then you can delete it at the source and hope it wasn’t copied elsewhere online.

Content you posted that you might want to delete now includes:

• Old photos showing you in a bad light
• Re-posts that don’t support your professional image
• Links you shared that you no longer want to be associated with you

In most cases, it’s also easy to remove comments made by accounts you own. In short, any negative item that was made by an account you control is relatively easy to get rid of permanently.

What about bad press, outdated information or negative content that you don’t control, though? Let’s talk about it.

Removing Negative Online Content That You Don’t Control

When you don’t control the negative items that appear in search results for your name, things get trickier. For example, a business might have claimed its review platform page (a must for any business owner), but that doesn’t mean you can control negative reviews left by customers. In fact, in this case, it’s unlikely that anyone can remove them unless they violate the platform’s policies.

The best way to handle negative reviews is to respond to them in a timely manner and work to solve the problem, ultimately making the customer happy. Then, you can politely ask the customer to update the feedback to reflect your efforts to make things right.

Not all content that you don’t control will be so easy to deal with, though. Many review sites allow posters to remain anonymous, which often brings out the worst in people. Likewise, individuals and businesses alike suffer from attacks via revenge and hate websites, ill-intentioned blog posts, and databases displaying private information.

For example, mugshots and arrest records are considered public property. This means that databases like MyLife can legally scour the internet and compile profiles featuring your full name, address, date of birth, employment history, and arrest records, along with any mugshot that you’ve ever had taken.

Here’s some good news, though: You have a few options for removing or burying posts that you don’t control.

Our clients come to us when they need to build or repair their online reputation. Call us at 941-259-4554 to learn more about taking control of your digital presence.

Contact the Website Owner Directly

Look for the contact page on each website that has negative information about you. Whenever possible, contact the website owner directly instead of sending a message to a generic email address. Explain that you would like them to remove the content and why it should be removed. If you present a solid case and remain polite, they might agree to your negative article removal request without any fuss.

Request That Google De-Index the Link

You can ask Google to remove any search result you like by submitting a removal request. However, keep in mind that Google will only remove posts that violate guidelines, such as those that feature offensive images or highly personal information like your Social Security number. If you feel like you have a case, though, this process is worth a shot.

Take Legal Action

If you’re not having luck with the above tactics, but you feel like the negative content or bad press violates your rights, you can hire an attorney and take legal action against the web owner. This can cost thousands of dollars, and the results are not guaranteed to go in your favor, but it’s still an option in some cases.

Work With an Online Reputation Management Team

The final option, and possibly the one with the most promising outcome, is hiring an online reputation management (ORM) firm.

With reputation management, anything that can’t be removed can be suppressed or buried deep in the less-frequented pages of Google. Few searchers ever click past the first page, let alone the second. That’s why it’s unlikely that your negative content will be discovered if it’s been pushed down to page three or four of Google search results.

Can you do this on your own? In theory, yes, but reputation management can require 20 or more hours of dedicated work each week. To rebrand your online image, ORM involves steps like:

• Claiming your own website and other web properties
• Establishing an active social media presence across multiple platforms
• Regularly creating useful online content that puts you in a good light

Typical campaigns take between 6 and 12 months to successfully suppress all negative items and restore your good image online. This time frame may be longer or shorter depending on the severity of your situation.

If you think this sounds like a lot of work, you’re correct! But think of it this way: It’s worth the effort and expense to have an excellent image online instead of one that could destroy your future prospects.

Some ORM companies offer their services at shockingly low rates, like under $100 per month. Be wary when you see a too-good-to-be-true price tag. Often, these types of companies use black hat methods that offer short-term results to fool customers. In the course of a few months, though, the results often disappear as Google checks for shortcut methods and de-lists low-quality links. Before you know it, your negative items will be back up for everyone to see, and you’ll be back at square one.

The Importance of Proactive Reputation Management

Removing negative articles from the internet can be a challenge, and not everyone has time to manage their own reputation. Plus, once your negative items are suppressed, you might be tempted to stop your online reputation management efforts, but this is a mistake.

The only way to protect yourself in an ongoing manner is with proactive management. Think of it as purchasing insurance for your good name.

At Internet Reputation, our trained team has helped thousands of clients restore and protect their names or their brands. We can build a protective barrier around you for when people Google your name.

Speak with one of our experts by calling 941-259-4554 today.